Information transfer and behavioural inertia in starling flocks

Area of Science:

• Collective behavior
• Animal behavior
• Physics of complex systems

Background:

• Collective decision-making requires rapid, robust information transfer to maintain group cohesion.
• The precise mechanisms enabling robust information flow in natural groups remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate information propagation in starling flocks during collective turns.
• To develop a new theoretical framework explaining observed information transfer dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Studied starling flocks performing collective turns.
• Analyzed information propagation using a linear dispersion law.
• Developed a new theory incorporating behavioral inertia.

Main Results:

• Information propagates with linear dispersion and minimal attenuation, preventing group decoherence.
• Current models predicting diffusive transport were contrasted with findings.
• The new theory accurately reproduced linear, undamped propagation and was validated by data.

Conclusions:

• Swift decision-making in groups may drive strong behavioral polarization.
• Behavioral inertia is key to understanding robust, linear information transfer in collective motion.
• Experimental data supports a new model for information propagation in biological systems.